New Hope for Parkinson’s Patients

Married couples aren’t the only ones who sometimes wish their honeymoons would last a little longer. People being treated for Parkinson’s disease often express the same wish regarding their treatment. Before long, their wish may be granted.

A clinical trial that began in July at the University of Arizona is aimed at finding out if ketamine, a drug used to treat depression, can extend what physicians refer to as “the honeymoon period’’ for Parkinson’s patients being treated with levodopa.

Levodopa, an amino acid created naturally in the human body, has long been used to treat some of the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, particularly the stiffness and slow movement that comes with it.

The problem is that levodopa typically works great for a few years. That’s what doctors call the honeymoon period. After that, severe side effects such as uncontrollable and involuntary movement of the arms, legs and head develop.

Research has shown that 40-percent of all Parkinson’s patients being treated with levodopa experience these side effects, known clinically as dyskinesia and that the only way to stop them is to halt the levodopa treatments.

The intentions of the three-year, $750,000 clinical trial is to determine if ketamine, which has also been used to treat chronic pain, can help reduce the rash of involuntary movements brought on by the use of levodopa.

The belief that it can is shared by two University of Arizona doctors who first discovered ketamine’s added potential in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease several years ago when they began using it as a pain reliever for Parkinson’s patients.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic progressive neurological disease that is marked by the tremor of resting muscles, rigidity, slowness of movement, impaired balance, and a shuffling gait.

In addition to learning that ketamine helped ease pain in patients with Parkinson’s disease, the doctors discovered that the patients who were given ketamine treatments also experienced a noticeable reduction in dyskinesia.

The doctors later discovered that similar results were found when lab rodents with Parkinson’s disease were treated with ketamine, which can bring about some side effects of its own.

An increase in blood pressure and a feeling of disassociation with the body has sometimes been experience by people being treated with ketamine, which has also been used recreationally.

During the trial, however, the doctors intend to closely monitor blood pressure levels and they are confident the dosage needed to relieve the dyskinesia falls well below the dosage at which the disassociation effect is realized.

The trial is currently monitoring the effects of ketamine in 10 patients with Parkinson’s disease and is being conducted in conjunction with a separate study using rodents to determine how ketamine affects the brain.

Share this:

Authors:

Roy Cummings

About Roy Cummings

Roy Cummings is a native of Chicago, Illinois who grew up in the suburb of Lombard. He and his family later moved to Lakeland, Florida, where Roy attended high school at Kathleen High. He graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications in 1983 and immediately went to work for the Tampa Tribune. After five years working in a Polk County bureau covering everything from high school sports to college football to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, Roy moved back to Tampa and became the Tribune's first beat writer for the Tampa Bay Lightning, covering the team from its inception through the first eight years on the ice. He was then moved to the Buccaneers beat, where he stayed until the paper was folded in May, 2016. A two-time Florida Sports Writer of the Year, Roy has extensive experience covering all Tampa professional sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays.
View all posts by Roy Cummings →

Recent Posts

Implants Now The Gold Standard For Replacement Teeth

The loss of a tooth may be a bit traumatic for a five- or six-year-old child, but it’s all part of the natural growing process, one t...
Read More

WATS Happening in Esophageal Cancer

Do you get heartburn after you eat? Maybe you get it once in a while, or maybe you’re one of the 15 million or more Americans who get...
Read More

Addiction Damage in America

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported some disconcerting news last month when it released the results of a stu...
Read More

A Dialogue on Bleeding Disorders

When most people get a cut or other trauma to their bodies, specialized cells are immediately transported to the site of the injury to...
Read More

Concerning Colorectal Cancer

With cancer, the cells of a part of your body grow out of control. When this occurs with the cells of your colon or rectum, it’s col...
Read More